I can't resist commenting since I cannot forget this ride! I have been on the same train line (don't think it was called vivek express back then) about 20 years

I can't resist commenting since I cannot forget this ride! I have been on the same train line (don't think it was called vivek express back then) about 20 years (I was 15) back from Coimbatore to Guwahati. Back then, the train rides were like UDP packets - best effort service :) From what I remember: * Train was supposed to arrive in cbe at 5pm but only arrived at 2am in the morning. There was a thriving economy in the train station all the time as people needed dinner/snacks. * The hardest parts of the rides are through Andhra pradesh (around vijayawada) which is dry and extremely hot, not for the faint of heart. * The temperatures feel way more than 45C inside those metal compartments. There is no facility to take a shower, so the heat and smell is quite an experience :) * Entering Bengal is one of the best sights ever. Suddenly, everything is green and looking at the infinite green fields almost gives you a new lease of life (especially after andhra!) * After howrah, the train switches to next level of "best effort". In many places in east india, there is only a single train track and the delays cascade. The train would just stop overnight in the middle of nowhere waiting for opposite trains to pass. * The brahmaputra (at guwahati) almost looks like the sea/ocean. You cannot see banks on the other side, it's ultra wide. It's really not a normal river. It also flow extremely fast. * In east india, the states keep changing every station. * I loved sitting by the window but I got a middle seat. The first part of the trip was painful. But at bhubhaneshwar or so, an army jawan (who got the RAC window seats), gave his seat to me. I remember being so happy! * To add to the 3 day trip, our train arrived an additional 15 hours late. When we arrived in assam, the hotel cancelled our room since we didn't appear. I do wonder how my dad managed to book a hotel in assam at all with no internet or mobile. what happened due to lack of a hotel is another story :)